Sesame Street Live Coming To Your Neighborhood

Four-year-old Bryant Hurd excitedly squirmed in his seat at Township Auditorium in Columbia, South Carolina. Eyes fixed on the technicolor stage, the preschooler announced, “I’m going to love this!”

The set with vibrant swaths of color, brownstone stoop and blooming flower boxes, is the sunny-day neighborhood children have called home for generations: Sesame Street.

“Sesame Street Live! Say Hello” is the latest theatrical version of the iconic education series presented by Round Room Live, which took over production in spring of 2024.

“It’s exciting for us to have this evergreen brand that has been around for 50 years and has billions of views on YouTube, which reaches children in over 150 countries,” says Stephen Shaw, founder and co-president of Round Room Live. “The stats and history behind this brand really highlight the reach and popularity and love – the quality and impact it had on a global scale.”

Helmed by Shaw and Jonathan Linden, Round Room Live’s roster of touring family shows includes “Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour,” “Blippi The Musical,” “Peppa Pig Live,” “Shrek the Musical,” “Nitro Circus 20^th Anniversary Tour” and “Blue’s Clues & You! Live On Stage.” Round Room’s Immersive and Entertainment Experiences division includes “Formula 1: The Exhibition,” “Jurassic World: The Exhibition,” “Mandela: The Official Exhibition” and “Tupac Shakur. Wake Me When I’m Free.”

“With every brand, we take very seriously being the custodian of that brand and making sure we do everything they would do to expand the brand and take care of it,” offers Linden, co-president. “Especially with ‘Sessame Street’ because it’s one of those rare brands that has the longevity of 50 years and Stephen and I are still young enough that we remember enjoying it when we were kids.”

Under the stewardship of Children’s Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) “Sesame Street” first aired on public television stations on Nov. 10, 1969. A decade later, nine million American children under the age of six were watching the show daily. In 2006, the United States Department of State called it “the most widely viewed children’s television show in the world.”

The series featuring Jim Henson’s beloved Muppets and a diverse cast of human performers changed attitudes and approaches to developmental psychology and early childhood education using animation, humor and celebrity guests from basketball legend Karem Abdul-Jabbar, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and writer Maya Angelou to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan – and that’s just a few of the As.

The series moved from PBS to HBO in 2015, then to Max (previously HBO Max) in 2020. Season 55 of “Sesame Street” started airing this month. Max is airing all the new episodes and will have a full library of previous seasons through 2027, but announced they will not renew. Sesame Workshop has said they will be announcing new distribution plans soon.

Sesame Street’s lengthy stage run began in 1980, when Vincent Egan’s VEE Corporation presented the first “Sesame Street Live” in September at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. That Christmas, the show went on to play for four weeks at Madison Square Garden’s 4,000-seat Felt Forum in New York City before an audience of 100,000.

In 2015, Blue Star Media bought VEE Corporation with Egan continuing on as a consultant and renamed the combined companies VStar Entertainment Group. A year later, Sesame Workshop announced an agreement with Feld Entertainment to take over producing “Sesame Street Live” until Round Room stepped in last year.

Round Room Live had built momentum and an impressive portfolio of shows since Shaw founded the company in 2016. Shaw, a former merch roadie, was president of Michael Cohl’s S2BN Entertainment in New York and produced and promoted kids tours “Yo Gabba Gabba Live!,” and “Alvin and The Chipmunks Live” and was also tour promoter for “An Evening with Oprah Winfrey” and “An Evening with Al Pacino.”

Linden was previously CEO of Michael Cohl’s S2BN Entertainment and prior to that he served as senior vice-president, Office of the Chairman at Live Nation where he led and managed significant transactions in the live entertainment space including bundled rights deals for major concert touring artists and global licensing arrangements. 

Together they earned a reputation for turning intellectual properties into live touring productions. For “Sesame Street Live! Say Hello” they tapped their existing venue relationships and focused on soft-seat theaters. Last year, the tour visited more than 120 markets between April and December. The 2025 edition kicks off March 6 at the Bridge View Center in Ottumwa, Iowa.

Tickets range in price for most venues from $25 to $65, with some tickets reaching up to $85. The Photo Experience with Elmo and Abby Cadabby on stage is always $50 (not including facility and service fees) and available to all price levels to add on to their ticket purchase. 

“Tickets are structured as such so we can offer a price point for all economic levels,” says Shaw. “We also make sure that any seating level can access the Photo Experience, and it’s not reserved just for the top ticket price, so that anyone who wants to purchase a ticket and participate can.”

“It’s something we do with all our shows,” adds Linden. “Knowing how much people love that opportunity be on stage and meet these great, iconic characters.”

Future plans for “Sesame Street Live! Say Hello” include international expansion and the addition of a second or third touring unit. Wherever it goes, the heartfelt takeaway is that the world can be a better place if we say hello to our neighbors and treat everyone with kindness and a smile.

“There’s a heightened responsibility and expectation because it’s not just the kids that enjoy it – the kids coming the show – but their parents,” says Linden. “It’s authentic and consistent with how they remember it as well as being fresh and modern and exciting.”

Justine Costa, 30, was at the nap-friendly, midday performance in Columbia with her husband and one-year-old son. On stage, Elmo was searching for his lost pup Tango and making lots of friends and problem solving along the way.

“I grew up watching ‘Sesame Street,’” says Costa, during the intermission between two 30-minute sets. “It’s exciting to see that they still have all the lessons about kindness and inclusion and being friendly. It’s nice seeing the lessons I learned being imparted to him, so he can learn them.”

The characters spanned multiple generations as well from Abby Cadabby (2006) and Tango (2021) to series originals Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster.

“With ‘Sesame Street’ there are so many characters and such a rich history,” explains Linden. “There aren’t very many brands that have so many characters that are household names.”

Sherri, 64, and Bruce Greenberg, 68, were at the 3,000-cap historic 1930’s theater enjoying “Sesame Street Live! Say Hello” with their four-year-old twin grandchildren, Andy and Emma.

“As soon as my husband said we were going to get the tickets I started singing ‘Sunny Day’ and all the songs,” enthused Sherri Greenberg. “Our children grew up watching it.”

“I love watching them,” Bruce Greenberg adds, looking at his enthralled grandkids. “They know every song. They’ve never been to a show so this is thrilling for them.”

Adam Greenberg wanted to know why Oscar the Grouch lives in a garbage can. Grandad didn’t miss a beat, “He loves trash.”

Round Room Live’s Stephen Shaw and Jonathan Linden feel a sense of nostalgia and responsibility representing the stage-face of a brand that is 55 years old and recognized around the world.